Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1789-1924 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities external link and the Library of Congress. Learn more

Download & Play

Questions

Newspaper Page Text

HAT WOULD YOU HAVE DDI?
By Frank
Y rfi -f f-r- rr-Y f
t tt it ' tt
CLAYTON was tlic fii
n H!(iftsman; th.'it Is to
Kit y, nli'inugli It Ik father,
( Henry i ntyion, I.-' , was a
New Vmk lawyer, H tvnn his habit, to
go with his family every year Into the
Adirondack woods, where for about
two tiionilis lio could enjoy tlio hunt
ing, tit-hlng, rowing and tramping
which that will mid picturesque re
gion afforded him. Ills Hon, Hal, In -heritcd
his father's love of outdoor
sport, mid Mas already :i fairly good
IKhennan mid n very good shot, and
ln enjoyed the Adirondack life quite
iis much us did hl.s father. '
Hal had n little room of his own nt
home, which he called his study, mid
which was furnished according to his
own ideas. " There were it pood many
pictures on the walls, hut over his desk
was a vacant space where It was Hal's
.. ,,,!.( I. ,,, 4.. 1. ll,.. 1....1 .ii,. I .mil. .in
iiiiiMiiiiMt ly lliui im- iiiiiil nun tnun i
of a deer which he himself should
sheet. Ills father encouraged him In
this ambition, mid gave the hoy on his
fifteenth birthday a line new rifle; It Is
certain there could hp no greater en
couragement than this.
A few- wcekg afterward Mr. Clayton
and his family were established In their
camp in the woods. Early one bright
morning Hal and his father started
out on their first deer hunt. Mr. Clay
ton was a goed woodman, and needed
no guide to the ordinary haunts of the
gani in the vicinity of his camp. Af
ter a walk of three or four miles he
and Hal came to the edge of an arm
of a lake. Here Mr. Clayton stopped.
"Now, Hal," said he, "I am going to
leave you here to shoot your first buck
that Is, if you should be so lucky as
to see one. That open space down
there, about 2(H) feet away, Is a place
where the deer come out. Settle your
self behind this big, Hat rock, and wait
until a buck comes down to drink. The
wind is all right, so he will not be apt
to discover you if you lie hidden. Then
you will have an opportunity to show
whether or not you are a good shot.
I am going off to another spot for deer,
and I think I shall be back about
noon."
When Mr. Clayton had departed Hal
began to prepare himself for work.
Laying his rifle on a depressed portion
of the rock, where it was concealed
from view, he settled himself comfort
ably where he could look over the rock
"without exposing more than his eyes
and gray felt hat, which was nearly the
color of the stone.
He had heard a great deal of deer
lulnting, and he knew very well that
iu order to get a shot it was often
necessary to wait a long time at a place
where deer might show themselves;
consequently he had brought his cam
era with him. lie was very fond of
taking photographs, especially of out
of-door scenes.
TMio fi,.c tiling It Tt-ifl. tile innv
J. Ill; LI 1 t? I, llllll. 11V ,111.11 UIO V L1J
era was to take a picture of the spot
where he hoped a deer would appear,
and having done this he watched and
waited for a while, and then, when he
became tired of this he took a photo
graph of another pretty scene near by
For about half an hour after this he
sat behind the rock and waited and
watched, and just as he was beginning
to think it would be well to take av
other photograph in order to beguile
the tedium of this very slow sport he
saw a decided movement of the leaves
in a mass of bushes at the edge of the
wood near the place his father had told
him to watch. lie laid his hand upon
his rifle and held his breath.
Now from the bushes a head ap
pea red, then a neck, but It was not the
head and neck for which he had been
waning ami uopiug, u was me ueau tn
a doe, on which grew no branching
antlers. But It was a beautiful head,
and Hal was near enough to see the
beauty of the large, lustrous eyes.
uut into me open space ueiween uie
1- 1 it, . i . 1. .1 r. i- ... . . 1
woods and the water the doe stepped,
revealing the whole of her graceful
form. She looked to the light, she
looked to the left, then she looked out
over the water, and when she had
made .these prudent surveys she turned
her head toward the bushes from
which she had just emerged.
Then in an instant, as if she had
?aid, "It is all right; come along, my
dear!" out skipped a little fawn. He
too, raised his small head, looked to
the right, to the left, and out over the
water, as if he wished to assure him
self that his mother had been correct
in telling him he was quite safe to
leave the shelter of the forest.
The mother deer now walked down
to the edge of the water and lowered j
lier graceful head to drink. The fawn
trotted after her and lowered his grace
ful little head, but he merely wet his
nose; he did not seem to care for water.
The doe, after taking another look
about her, deliberately walked for a
short distance into the shallow water
then stopped and looked back
ward, ns if inviting her son to come in
: :. 1 see how nice it was to stand in the
i ( el water.
lint the fawn had no fancy for any-
tling of the kind. He pricked up his
f V" A I,
1 -1 of
Ml"
Stockton.
Yiv
cars, he Matup"d upon the ground with
Ms tlnv hoofs, and he moved Impa
tiently backward and forward along
the shore as If he thought his mother
nhouhl come out mid behave herself
like a respectable deer.
The doe paid no attention, however,
to the fawn's annoyance. t-die even
walked' further Into the water, until
her legs were nearly concealed. The
fawn now became very much agitated,
mid nfter springing backward and for
ward two or three times he went to
the edge of the water and put In one
foct; then he drew It bade and
stamped; then, encouraged by his
mother, who might have been supposed
to be speaking gently to him all the
time, he put In both forefeet and stood
still for a minute.
lint he chew back, and after stamp
ing as if he hated very much to have
wet feet he bounded away. Then he
turned to look tit his mother, hoping,
probably, that she would think he had
done enough, and that she would come
out and cease her efforts- to make him
do a very unpleasant thing. The doe
probably knew what was In the mind
of her son, but Instead of paying some
attention to his evident appeals she
moved farther from the shore until
the water was so deep that she was
obliged to swim.
Hal thought that the little fawn now
became possessed with the fear that
he was going to lose his mother; that
she intended to cross the water and
leave him where he was. Made brave
by this anxiety he forget everything in
the frantic desire to be with her, wher
ever she might be going or whatever
she might be doing, and he plunged
Into the cold water. He splashed and
kicked and tried to Jump, but In a min
ute he was out of his depth, paddling
as fast ns he could toward the doe,
who was waiting for him
Hal watched these proceedings with
the most lively Interest. It was plain
enough that the little creature, like
nearly ail animals except man, was
able to support himself in the water,
and to swim without .being taught to
do so, but it also seemed plain to Hal
that the fawn did not like cold water,
and would need a good deal of educa
tion by example before he would have
proper confidence in himself and run to
water If pursued.
un ne went, wnn not much more
than his head out of the water, and
working his little legs with an excited
energy that soon took him to his moth
er. Then she swam gently round him.
putting her head close to his, and ap
parently endeavoring to encourage him.
But the fawn did not want encour
agemeut. He wanted his mother to go
back to the shore, and to take him with
her, and as soon as he got a chance he
made as if he would climb on her back.
This pulled her down in the water, and
so, without any regard for the feelings
of her son, she shook him off and swam
to a little distance, moving toward the
shore.
The fawn followed, trying his best
to reach his mother and compel her to
carry him, but without leaving him far
behind she kept out of his reach, al
though she always kept her eyes on
him, and seemed to be urtrins him to
swim ashore without her help
In a short time the doe was standing
on dry land, and when the fawn could
touch bottom he gave a great bound
up the shelving beach, and began rac
ing backward and forward as if to get
warm by exercise. Meanwhile his
mother stood looking at him with evi
dent pride. Although his temper may
have been milled by the way his moth
er had treated him, ho was now as
happy as any little fawn could be. He
had already forgotten ho had ever
been afraid of the water.
The doe, having performed her moth
er duty, lay down in a sunny spot to
flry herself, and the fawn, ever willing
I .
to emulate her in this respect stretched
himself on the ground beside her, not
in the graceful attitude she had as
sumed, but with his slender legs reach
ing out In four directions, his head
resting upon the ground.
In all the time he had been watching
the performances of the doe and the
fawn Hal had not even thought of his
rifle. To shoot at any time, or under
any circumstances, a little fawn and
Its affectionate mothdr would have
been not only unsportsmanlike and il-1
legal, but shamefully cruel. And now-
after the boy had, in a manner, made
the acquaintance of the pair, and had
taken so much interest in the swim
ming lesson he would have elt almost
inciineu to snoot any one Who should
dare to shoot that doe and fawn.
YV hue he had been wah-Wns . the
swimming scene he had forgotten Yie
camera, but now he remembered it,
and was just about to take ml picture of
the fawn and its mother, resting after
their bath when the pretty creatures
made a sudden movement. The fawn
raised Its head, and the dee, without
rising, turned her eyes in the direction
of the woods.
Instantly Hal pr.t down his camera
and laid his hand uron his rifle. His
hc-i rt t'"it f r. .;. whole body tnm-
t!;lrg hlili ! r weiv no, nfsaH of,
fr tie. fawn ni,l its mother were 1 1 t
1-1 the hast f: 1. Could it be
Wh'lt he had been epeetillg7
met hit;:; did come, and It was ex
actly what Hal bad been expecting,
waiting for, longing for. Without the
slightest hesitation a tine Hick walked
oat Into tne open, lie uiq not loou to
the right, he did not look to the left,
he did led even deign to look out over
the water. With a careless air he
threw a glance toward doe mid fawn,
ind then stepped forward to the water,
his manner Indicating that he felt per
fectly at hom, nl that there wac no
reason why he should not present him
self to other deer as an example of
courageous self-reliance.
He drank a little water, he nibbled a
little grass, and then he stepped toward
the spot where the due and fawn were
lying. He raised his head and appeared
to be breathing with delight the warm,
sunny air, so different from the atmos
phere of the shaded depths of the for
est. I pon his head was a pair or mag
nificent nnth i s, every branch and point
of which showed clear and sharp In
the bright sunlight.
Hal's heart still beat fast, his hand
was on his rille, and he was tryin
hard to control the trembling of his
body. He knew all about this agita
tlou at the first sight of noble game,
and he. knew It must be controlled if
he wanted to make a good shot.
Yet in his excitement he could not
help being impressed with the rare
beauty of the picture the recumheut
doe, the fawn again lying by her side,
the buck standing not far behind them,
his head raised high, and in the back
ground the water, the trees and the
s:;y. Jiai eagerly asKoa niniseii u a
would be possible to take a photograph
before he tired. He had not answered
his own question before there was a
sudden change la the npiiearance of
the buck. With a quick movement he
turned his head toward the water, his
cars bent forward, his eyes dilated and
from his mouth came a strange, shrill,
whistling sound. He was frightened;
Hal could see nothing, could hear
nothing that seemed to indicate dan
ger, but the deer had sharper senses
than his. Probably i was only a fox
on the other side of the water. Decl
are often very much afraid of foxes,
although we know of no good reason
why they should be. But no matter
what the cause, the buck was alarmed
His antlers trembled as if his whole
body were pervaded by a sudden tre
nior.
The terror of the buck instantly com
nmnicatcd Itself to the doe and fawn;
the one half-raised herself from the
ground, turning her head toward the
water, and the little fellow sprang to
his feet.
It was a wonderful picture. Hal had
never seen an engraving or painting
which showed a group of deer at a mo
ment of such intense nervous excite
ment. But it was -also a wonderfully
good opportunity for a shot.
There was no time for deliberation.
The buck raised his head still higher
and leaned a little toward the wood;
the doe sprang to her feet; the little
fawn slightly crouched as if about to
make a bound and Hal felt that what
ever was to be done must be done In
stantly. He seized the camera.
Click! It was over.
At that moment the buck turned his
head away from the water, the doe
leaned forward, there were three sud
den bounds and the startled animals
had plunged into the bushes and out of
sight.
Hal sat down on the ground and
leaned his back against the rock. Af
ter his excitement there came a reac
tion; he did not want to do anything
but just sit there. He was tired, he
was disappointed, he was happy. He
sat there a long time, how thinking of
the buck's head, with its branching
antlers, which might have hung on the
wall above his desk; thinking of the
little fawn and its petulant way of
stamping its hoofs upon the ground;
thinking of the tender-eyed doe so gen
tly and steadfastly giving her little son
,l uveuea lesson m lire; tnmiving or tne
1 .1 V , 1 .(ill ! .1 1 .1
u. iuu nave uuu unuumieu,
standing m saieiy somewnere m tne
depths of the forest.
When Mr. Clayton came back he
found his son still sitting by the rock.
"Well," he said, "did you see a buck?"
"Oh, yes," said Hal.
urn ne give you a chance for a
shot?"
"Yes." said Hal, "a Cue one."
Mr. Clayton looked about, but
nothing -which betokened that M-
had shot a deer. "What,"
"did you miss him?"
"No," said Hal, and ther
father was completely
r
told his story. .
Mr. Clayton stc
moments, looking''
said he, "I
have been
be glad y
able."
. - y
The-'
spre'l
whhi
fa rail
the ?
his f
of n
canr
boy s
1 . : (f 1).. : !.
,' with that I- .l?
'What nr- you tbd.
Why didn't yon hrlrg jmir -.... r i '.'
If a l, !i should ti k in h ad .ut of
the water you would not be uMe to
photograph it."
He did not like this MyH of tail., br.t
he made no answer. Then s'ntii Curtis,
the biggest boy of the little company,
addressed him.
"Hal." said he, "can you tell me how
It feels to be a molly cuddy '!"
"A what?" exclaimed Hal. the blood
rushing to his face.
A mollycoddy." replied Sam. "That's
what you are. You haven't any busi
ness to go hunting and tithing. You
ought to stay with the girls mid play
croquet. Of all things I wouldn't be
a mollycoddy."
Hal dropped his fishing line and
stepped quickly toward Sam Curtis.
That evening Sam Curtis was taking
a walk In the moonlight, when he met
some of his friends.
Well, Sam." said one of them, by
way of cheering him up, "how do you
like the niollyeoddv?"
Like him!" said Sam. "I like him
well enough. There Is nothing the mat
ter with him. But the next time he
wants to have anything to do with me
I am going to ask him to take my pho
tograph." There are no buck's horns on the
wall above Hal Clayton's desk, but in
their place hangs a framed photograph,
considerably enlarged from the orig
inal, of a group of deer, with a lake
and forest for a background.
A good many of Mr. Clayton's sports-
men friends have come to look at this
picture, and they nil agree that it was
not only very well taken, but that, as
far as they know, it is a unique pic
ture, showing a group of deer in a most
unusual and interesting state of mind.
Then, if Hal is not present, Mr. Clay
ton tells his friends the story I have
just told you. Youth's Companion.
COLD FROM COLD FISH.
London Swallows a Yarn About the Creil
illty of Our Farmer.
After hearing from returning Eng
lishmen a few tales about New York's
gold brick Industry, they are prepared
to believe anything in Loudon about
the plausibility of the American "con"
man, and the gullibility of his vic
tims. A particularly tough yarn has
just gone the rounds of the London
papers about a gathering of Kansas
farmers who contributed 100 apiece
to a venerable person who had a pro
cess for extracting gold troin gold
fish. According to this yarn the venerable
person with the glib tongue and the
;old extracting process met the farm
ers at the Aquarium. He confided to
them that through a peculiar chemical
process in the goldfish's digestion dis
covered by lihn, several grains of pure
;old are made and dissolved hi its
body daily.
The gold, of course, came out of The
seawater like that of the Boston gen
tleman who made a fortune out of
credulous folks a year or so ago. After
inspecting the goldfish the scientist
took his farmer friends tQ a labora
tory. There, after juggling with chemicals,
he produced from a small fish a glitter
ing nugget. After that the farmers
contributed readily and the scientist
disappeared with the proceeds of his
collection.
Of course the credulity, even of Kan
sas tarmers, ends somewhere, and
there hasn't been any such swindle.
But the London papers swallowed the
yarn. One of them found it a very
;ood reason why Englishmen
shouldn't be persuaded to .be Ameri
canized into adopting Yankee business
methods in any degree. New York
Sun.
Military Crimes.
Hardship and privations do not im
prove the temper, and insubordination
easily intervenes, while the tempta
tion of drink, if it is to be had, is too
often irresistible, to weak but well
meaning men long deprived of such
dissipation. Another fruitful source of
transgression which, if we are to trust-
va,n, , m,01.ts, became at times eni-
I L 1
demic, was the almost natural turre
der to physical exhaustion. To slecy
on sentry is one of the most serious
of military crimes; it is inexcusable
from the military point of view, for
the safety of thousands may hang
upon the vigilance of one man, yet the
strain of some wearisome, long-pro-tracted
march or fatiguing operations
KWhT sometimes explain what cannot be
Nor can we shut our eyes
''l,tnore coutempti-
r
Hello, lliii:" tr!
DLL VMS THE H . ,
',, 1 v, n i '!-.(, ft ri, if ! ,
,.n-r ilHv.nn :l of in u r.er i ir.e;
'!.- 1 , en iin.l .lelu't trv
It, ,m t t In' "i ' ! !! ur.f,
V.i t. ii coma all the time,
!'.: y hcie hihI vi-i yw
V i.i a n t,,-k tin ii'-, 1 r ji to d :,
l,,',i a t le !(!
Th'lu't c"n"H i.at n round
I s '-'iia :! lit eid I'llkinn' ti,''-',
1 1 ' TV t he el in r ho K would 1 1 .1
Ali tliey ever dnl-and timie. '
! mt ic"i' nt mornmi! h'iit.
Weather ftonnv, u-iitliT fair;
AlwuvM work on hand to do,
"r.iil Wf, there!
Never heard him xviiine nrrml
'Chum- things didn't yi ju-t o;
In the joy he wli.xtied hmd.
Ill the pain he vho-t'.ed luW.
Took thine" nn t he v c.tm
wmilm(r if 'twa.i joy r tare,
Never faltered; when thmgi tamo
liiil was there!
So he didn't tnnke no Mir.
Lived n quiet bnv life;
Livid a lift that didn't have
i;oorn for petty thought nn 1 strife.
He had Minpie work to do
Wa'n't ii') call to do nor d ire;
JiiHt a constant watch, you kicjw
1'iiH w.'.m there!
Si" li a ;ik:i) as Bill drops nt
And the world puts jnt the f.itv?
Doesn't hear death upeak the word
hen ho tails him by the n .ran.'.
3vi the common, plodding smt
Hill has certain none to uliero
They'd remi'inlxT how and when
lhll was there!
Hartford Tjncs
"What's the purpose of bacteriology
anyway?" "Well, It reduces worry
ing to a positive seelence, for one
tiling." Life.
Gladys "They say Harold is an ex
pert in the art of self-defense."
Evelyn "Nonseuse! Edith mad" him
propose in just one week! Tit-Iiits.
Oh! the chief end of niaa
It's a difficult feat
Is to see if we tan
Make both ends meet.
Philadelphia Record.
The New Maid "And the mistress
cooks some, herself, does she?" The
Cook "Oh, yis! But there's uawthin'
wasted I makes it over into Irish
stews." Puck.
"Was he a philanthropist?" "No;
he did not leave behind enough money
to be called that. He was merely an
extraordinarily charitable man." Bal
timore Herald.
Mamma "Fighting again? Why, a
good little boy wouldn't hurt a hair
of another boy's head." Johnny
"Well, I didn't! I just punched his
nose." Tit-Bits.
"Jabez Is gettiu' " used to public
speakin,' ain't he?" "Oh, yes. I re
member when you could hardly get
him to stand up, an now you kin
hardly get him to sit down." Puck.
The man who never makes mistakes
Must forfeit much delight;
He cannot t'tel the sweet surprise
Of sometimes being right.
Washington Star.
Artist "Yes, I've given this picture
of a pretty young widow a sort of hor
ticultural name." Frieud "Indeed!
What did you call it?" Artist "A
Daisy Beneath the Weeds." Chicago
News.
Mr. Goops "Wasn't there some kind
of a hitch about the wedding of Mr.
Spooneigh and Miss Mooney?" Mr.
YVTioop "No; the groom did not show
up, so there wasn't any hitch at all."
Baltimore American.
"It's an Al display," said Mr. Titt,
at the dog show. "It's a first-class ex
hibition," replied .Mr. Denn, "but
you've got the wrong number." "How
so?" "Instead of Al it is KU'-Pitts-burg
Clironicle-Tlegeraph.-
"He's got a great scheme to exter
minate mosquitoes." "What is it? The
idea about petroleum?" "Not at all.
His scheme is to cross them with
lightning bugs so you'll know when
they're coming." Chicago Tribune.
Mjnteriou Dark Lantern.
Really, the "dark," or bull's eye lan
tern, which perhaps is most generally
associated iu the mmd with the
stealthy burglar wearing a half mask
before his eyes, is put to various peace
ful and legitimate uses, and sometimes
gleams upon scenes of hilarity. The
"dark" lantern is a common stock ar-'
tide of trade, which may be bought
in any store where tinware is sold,
and all manufacturers of tin goods
make it. .
The lanterns are made in three sizes.
i and there has been very little change
.hem in many years except in minor
'ls of operation and in the use of
r lenses. The dark lantern will
i
jw a bright light about twenty
r, covering at that distance a cir-
with a radius of fu,;r to six feet.
Dark lanterns are sot - times used in
!e country for carriage 1 ps, and for
;hting one's way ttfoot across country
.'ads. Lanterns of the same style,
iJ-t slides, and red and green
'instead of white, are to some
; .v.... ..,-ed on small yachts for side
lights, but with all ;hese uses it is said
j that the sale of the historic bull's eye
U decreasing.